African stewed pinto beans and rice is a classic pair known to most in Cameroon simply as “Rice and beans”. The perfect Sunday lunch for the family, the perfect complete protein that will make you feel like a nutritionist.  Cooked with a fresh herb blend and smoked crayfish, giving it that uniquely African flavor that will get everyone talking. This dish like most of my recipes can be made strictly vegan by omitting the smoked crayfish. You are definitely not tied down to pinto beans, feel free to use any beans of your choice. I prefer pinto with this recipe because its more buttery and that’s what we used most back home.
Â
Â
Ready in 30 minutes!!! Count me in. Meal prep ideas don’t get any easier than this. Bought a huge bag of pinto beans from a local Mexican grocery store last week and put my crockpot to use. They were cooked without soaking on high for about 5 hours. Soaking overnight will reduce cook time by about half. Canned beans are definitely convenient but you’ll be pleased to know that not only do you save money but also control how much salt is in your beans. I cooked about 5 cups and the yield was about 14 cups!!! I don’t have enough freeze space for all that goodness. Ziploc bags with 3 cups of cooked pinto beans were frozen for future use. It is very important that you freeze, NOT refrigerate cooked beans. You will not be pleased with the smell if you do. Thaw in a bowl with room temp water for about 30 minutes. You can do the math and see how much money you’ll save by going for dehydrated over canned beans. The bag of beans was bought for under $5.
Â
Â
Make this Cameroon classic part of your menu. Cook up a batch and freeze in a casserole dish for nights that you feel too lazy to do anything but turn on the oven. Life is easy when meals are ready in little to no time. I enjoy cooking, I spent 3 hours making 4 different dishes for my younger brother last weekend. Some days like today, I’d rather be in and out of the kitchen.
Â
Hope you get to try this African stewed pinto beans. Let me know how it goes.
African Stewed pinto beans with rice
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked pinto beans (lightly salted)
- 1 cup diced roma tomatoes
- 2/3 cup sliced onion
- 2 Tbsp Essiespice Coco-For-Garlic sauce
- 2 Tbsp Mild Fresh herbs Blend
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 Tbsp harissa infused olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2-1 cup water
- 1/4 cup smoked crayfish (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet and sauté onions for 3 minutes. Then add roma tomatoes and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add Coco-for-garlic and beans. Gently stir, add 1/2 cup of water and bring to a gentle simmer
- Add in herb blend and crayfish. Simmer for another 5 to 7 minutes, stirring gently. Add more water if needed. Drizzle a harissa infused olive oil, season to taste.
- Serve over basmati rice
You must be logged in to post a comment.